WASHINGTON, June 6 — China’s deep entanglement with Pakistan is an “absolutely impossible factor to ignore” in India’s recent confrontation with its western neighbour, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said Thursday, warning that Beijing’s strategic alignment with Islamabad had disrupted recent signs of thaw between India and China.
Speaking at a closed-door interaction with think tank representatives at the Indian Embassy in Washington, Tharoor—who is leading a cross-party parliamentary delegation to the U.S.—called out China’s role during the April conflict and said India had to adapt in real-time to counter Chinese-supplied Pakistani military systems.
“We are aware that China has immense stakes in Pakistan,” Tharoor said bluntly. “The largest single project under the Belt and Road Initiative is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. 81 per cent of Pakistan’s defence equipment is from China. ‘Defence’ may be the wrong word here—offense in many ways.”
The remarks follow the deadly April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which left multiple Indian security personnel dead. Though the UN Security Council condemned the attack, it did not name The Resistance Front as the perpetrator after Pakistan, reportedly with China’s backing, succeeded in having the name removed from the official statement.
“China is an absolutely impossible factor to ignore in what has been our confrontation with Pakistan,” Tharoor reiterated, noting the significant military support Islamabad receives from Beijing, including radar, GPS-linked systems, aircraft, and air defences.
He revealed that during the recent hostilities, Indian forces recalibrated their strategy mid-conflict in response to Chinese-sourced military infrastructure. “When we saw what the Pakistanis were attempting to do using Chinese technology—for instance, the ‘kill chain’ systems where radar, GPS, aircraft, and missiles are networked for instant reaction—we simply did things differently,” he said. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to hit 11 Pakistani airfields or breach their Chinese-supplied air defences.”
Tharoor said reassessments were made “while the fighting was still going on,” underlining the urgency with which India had to respond to emerging battlefield realities.
India and China had appeared to be making diplomatic headway before the latest conflict erupted. After years of tension following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in June 2020, the two sides agreed to disengage at the remaining friction points of Depsang and Demchok in October 2024. This was followed by meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, and further high-level talks between Foreign Ministers S. Jaishankar and Wang Yi in Rio and Johannesburg.
“By September last year, we had actually begun a thaw with China, and it was seemingly making good progress before this tragedy occurred,” Tharoor said. “But then we saw a very different China—not only in terms of support on the ground but also diplomatically at the Security Council.”
Despite the renewed tensions, Tharoor stressed that India continues to pursue a pragmatic approach.
“We have no illusions about the challenges in our neighbourhood,” he said, “but I want to remind you all that India has consistently chosen a path of keeping open channels of communication, even with our adversaries.”
He added that India remains focused on development and economic ties, even as it navigates regional security risks. “Our trade with China is still at record levels. It’s not that we are adopting a posture of hostility, but we would be naive not to be aware of these other currents around.”
Pakistan currently holds a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and the fallout from the Pahalgam attack has amplified India’s concerns over China’s ability to shield Pakistan diplomatically in global forums.
“The fact is, China’s strategic and economic commitment to Pakistan is not just deep—it is growing,” Tharoor warned. “And that changes the calculus for us.”
